27-9-77 Saloon car racing popular While the Motor band of enthusiasts w annual international r racing cars, the club h car racing enjoys a tre Thus it is not entirely surprising that, apart from the trophy race itself and two motor-cycle races, the other five events on the programme are for saloon cars. One criticism that has been levelled at saloce racing is that although the cars look like those owned by the motoring public. many of them are out-and-out racers cloaked in lightweight repicas of standard . car bodies. in some cases, this is fair criticism, but there will be at least one race at Wigram that could be regarded as a pretty tair indication of the capabilities 0i production salocus. It will be erent Racing Club Ine was originally establised by rhose objective was to provide the city with ace of world class for open-wheeler singie-seater ras always been conscious of the fact that saloon emendous following in this country. eight. a six lap 21.24, km race for what are known as South Island Production Saloons. These cars, apart from a few minor modifications to such items dard cars. exhaust systems, are stan- The first event on the Wigram programme will be for cars contesting the Castrol GTX. series of races. These cars. apart from their flared wheel arches to cover wide wheels and tyres and frontend spoilers to improve air flow, look very much the same as standard cars. but are much more highly tuned. although, generally speaking, the everyday motorist could, if he desired, have his production model modified to similar specification, such car would not However, be suitable for normal road work, as is evidenced by the fact that GIX drivers usually take their cars to and from race meetings on trailers 'Ine third event on the programme wiil be a round in the Shellsport series and it will be run over nine laps of the circuit, a distance of 31.86km. A much greater degree of latitude in departure from normal production car specification is permitted in this series, although in general appearance the cars do bear some resemblance to production versions. The most sophisticated cars in the series are those contesting the up to 6000cc class and, undoubtedly, the quickest among them is the Mustang II hand built in Christchurch by. the PDL Racing Team and driven by the highly competent and most experienced Timaru driver, Leo Leonard. Fitted with a fully race modified Ford V8 engine, the Mustang churns out 550 brake horsepower and PDL's chief, Bob Stewart, reckons that with the right gearing Leonard should run close to the 320kph mark on Wigram's long back straight on Sunday. If Mr Stewart's estimate is correct, Leonard will have travelled faster than any other driver on a closed circuit in New Zealand. Leonard's main adversary in the series is Aucklander Jack Nazer, a most successful saloon driver of many rears standing. who is racing a highly modified Vauxhall Victor fitted with a 5875cc Mclaren-Chevrolet V8 engine. Peter Stuyvesant BRUCE ALLISON 0.52 Peter Save 23: Of the rest, Aucklander Top Australian driver Don Halliday will most Iikely be the man to watch in the Stuyvesant is the with his 3.4 litre V6-engined Ford Capri RS. This car is a 23-year-old Queens- • replica of European lander Bruce Allison Ford works team racing saloons and Halliday drives who is driving a Ralt RTI. This year he w further his racing areer in the very ompetitive European Formula 2 series. it with a verve that inevitably makes him a front runhas been unable to head off although. to date. he the bigger American V8s. Although they are ineligible for Shellsport points and prize money, the Australians Pat Crea (Chrysler Charger V8. Tony Edmon- Son ‹Chevrolet V8-Cortina) and Jim Richard (Sidchrome Mustang) will also probably run with the Shellsport saloons. Richards is a former Aucklander who has been racing in Australia for some time and is currently the top saloon car man in that coun- However, this trio is the Australian team racing the five-round test series with New Zealand and Wigram will see the last round of this teams event run over six laps. New Zealand has, to all intents, won the test, having gained points to Australia's 34. The Wigram programme will be rounded off with an eight-lap OSCA Open Saloon Car) race and final event of the same length will be the Union "Fast- Freight" race for the best canons at the meeting. ro- Photo contest for children For funior motor racing fans, the Team McMillan Ford - Citizen Watch Ralt will have particular interest, as Citizen Hatches (NZ) Ltd are condacting a photographic competition in con junction with the Peter Stuyresant series. - Youngsters up to 15 years have been invited to submit a photograph, taken by themselres, of the Rait. The best photographs submitted by a boy and girl will each win a Citizen watch for the successful young shutterbugs. The competition is operating throughout the series, so children from all areas will have the chance to win. Photographs mast be taken from a legitimate public area at the circuit, and be the work of the entrant, unassisted. So, young Christchurch photographers, load up these cameras, and watch out for Dave McMillan in the Citizen Watch Ralt at Wigram.